About:
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, including leg amputees, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy. Athletes are classified in accordance with the nature and severity of their disability or combinations of disabilities. Like running, it can take place on a track or as a road race. The main competitions take place at the Summer Paralympics which wheelchair racing and athletics has been a part of since 1960. Competitors compete in specialized wheelchairs which allow the athletes to reach speeds of 30 km/h (18.6 mph) or more. It is one of the most prominent forms of Paralympic athletics.
Events:
The distances involved in wheelchair racing include sprint distances of 100 m (109.4 yards), 200 m (218.7 yards) and 400 m (437.4 yards), middle distances of 800 m (874.9 yards) and 1500 m (1640.4 yards), long distances of 5000 m (3.1 miles) and 10,000 m (6.2 miles) and relay races of 4 × 100 m (109.4 yards) and 4 × 400 m (437.4 yards). There is also a road event which is the wheelchair marathon.
Classifications:
Classification systems have been put into place to ensure that the competition is fair, ensuring that all of the competitors have an equal opportunity to place, and they can because of their talent and not because their disability was less severe than the other competitors. Athletes are divided into categories depending on their disability, these are spinal cord injury or an amputee, or cerebral palsy.
Athletes who are in a wheelchair due to spinal cord injury or are an amputee are in classes T51 – T58. Classes T51 – T54 are for athletes in a wheelchair who are competing in track events. An athlete who is classed as T54 is completely functional from the waist up. An athlete who is classed as T53 has restricted movement in their abdominals. An athlete who is classed as either T52 or T51 has restricted movement in their upper limbs.
Athletes who are in a wheelchair due to cerebral palsy have different guidelines compared to an athlete with a spinal cord injury or who is an amputee, and range between T32 – T38. Classes T32 –T34 are classes for athletes in a wheelchair and classes T35 – T38 are for athletes who can stand.
Clubs:
ENGLAND
Coventry Godiva Harriers
Warwick University – Westwood Games Hall, Kirby Corner Road, Coventry, CV4 8UW
Website: www.coventry-godiva-harriers.co.uk/wheelchair-racing/
Tel: 07841 504311 | Email: jking@britishathletics.org.uk
Normal training times at the track are: Wednesday – meet 6.00p.m. / session begins 6.30p.m. Sunday – meet 2.30p.m. / session begins 3.00p.m.
Gloucester Athletics Club
Blackbridge Jubilee Athletics Track, Poplar Close, Podsmead, Gloucester, GL1 5TX
Website: www.gloucesterac.co.uk/training/para-athletics/
Tel: 01452 417990 | Email: bobpurcell1@outlook.com
Wheelchair race training takes place on Sunday mornings; 11:00 – 13.00 and Tuesday evenings; 18:45 – 20:00. For further information, contact Bob Purcell or come along to the Blackbridge track on Sunday mornings for a chat and to see the groups in action.
Leeds City Athletics Club
John Charles Centre for Sport, Middleton Grove, Leeds, LS11 5DJ
Website: www.leedscityac.org/our-athletes/#LCWR | Email: paul.moseley@outlook.com
The group train every Thursday evenings from 18:45 to 20:00
Mickey Bushell Gold Standard Academy
Forge Gate, Telford, TF3 4NA
Website: www.mickeybushell.com/athletics-coaching | Email: info@mickeybushell.com
Orwell Panthers Athletics Club
Northgate Sports Centre Sidegate Lane West Ipswich IP4 3DJ
Website: www.orwellpanthers.co.uk/ | Tel: 01473 411639 | Email: mnicholls99@googlemail.com
Training starts on a Wednesday at 6:30pm and finishes at 8:00pm
Yate & District Athletics Club
Yate Outdoor Sports Complex, Broad Lane, Yate, BS37 7LB
Website: www.yateac.co.uk/about-the-club/yate-athletic-club-adaptive-and-para/
Tel: 07799 425700 | Email: adaptive4athletics@gmail.com
Wheelchair racing training takes place on Tuesdays from 16.00 to 17.30
SCOTLAND
Aberdeen Amateur Athletics Club
Aberdeen Sports Village, Linksfield Rd, Aberdeen, AB24 5RU
Website: www.aberdeenamateurathleticclub.wordpress.com/coaching/disability-athletics/
Email: info@aberdeenaac.co.uk or pathways@aberdeenaac.co.uk
Mondays 4:30 – 5:30PM and Wednesdays 6:30 – 7:30PM. Racing wheelchairs can be provided.
Ayr Seaforth Athletics Club
Riverside Sports Arena, University Avenue, Ayr, KA8 0SZ
Website: www.ayrseaforth.co.uk/ | Email: secretary@ayrseaforth.co.uk
Edinburgh Eagles Disability Athletics Club
Forresters High School, 208 Broomhouse Rd, Edinburgh, EH12 9AD
Tel: 07772 124 485 | Email: celiajpeerless@hotmail.co.uk
Inverness Harriers
Queens Park Stadium, Inverness IV3 5SS
Website: www.invernessharriers.org.uk/ | Email: secretary@invernessharriers.org.uk
Lothian Leopards
Meadowmill Sports Centre, Willie Wood Way, Tranent, EH33 1LZ
Website: www.activeeastlothian.co.uk/events/lothian-leopards-disability-athletics-club-354
Tel: 01875 619 066 / 07882 376 338 | Email: rwoodhead@eastlothian.gov.uk
Perth Strathtay Harriers
George Duncan Athletics Arena, Gowans Terrace, North Muirton, Perth PH1 5AZ
Website: www.strathtayharriers.co.uk/para-athletics/
Tel: 07946 465449 | Email: info@strathtayharriers.co.uk
Red Star AC
Crownpoint Sports Centre, 183 Crownpoint Rd, Glasgow, G40 2AL
Website: www.redstarac.org.uk/ | Tel: 0141 641 1920 | Email: enquiries@redstarac.org.uk
WALES
Athletics Wales Para Athlete Pathway
Website: www.welshathletics.org/en/page/para-athlete-pathway
Email: neil.taylor@welshathletics.org
NORTHERN IRELAND
Athletics NI – Para Athletics
Mary Peters Track, Upper Malone Road, Belfast, BT9 5PR
Website: www.athleticsni.org/Clubs/Para-Athletes
Tel: 028 9060 2707 | Email: heather@athleticsni.org / info@athleticsni.org
We run taster session for children age 8 – 17 years old at different times during the year like Easter and Summer. We run 6 para sessions between September – April for athletes 12 years through to seniors, these sessions are suitable for beginners to developmental athletes. Wheelchair track training sessions – these are held on Thursday nights 5pm – 6pm for athletes aged 8-12 (April to October) and from 5pm – 6.30pm (all year) for athletes aged 12 and older.
Links:
British Wheelchair Racing Association: www.bwra.co.uk/
Wheelpower: www.wheelpower.org.uk/sports/wheelchair-racing/
Paralympics GB: www.paralympics.org.uk/
England Athletics: www.englandathletics.org/
Scottish Athletics: www.scottishathletics.org.uk/
Welsh Para Athletics: www.welshathletics.org/en/page/para-athletics
Athletics Northern Ireland: www.athleticsni.org/
Wheelchair Users Encyclopedia 